Caroline Bettelheim by Adele

Karoline Bettelheim as Selica in L'Africaine by Giacomo Meyerbeer

Karoline von Gompertz-Bettelheim
(1845-1925);
Hungarian mezzo-soprano/contralto

Studied pianoforte with Karl Goldmark, and singing with Moritz Laufer. At the age of 14, she made her début as a pianist, and two years later appeared for the first time in opera at Vienna. She eventually obtained a permanent engagement at the Royal Opera in that city. In 1861 she made her debut as Priestess in Gluck’s “Iphigenie auf Tauris” at Vienna. She was one of the leading singers at the Vienna “Hofoper” but she had a very short career. In 1867 she married businessman Julius Ritter von Gompertz and retired from the stage. She continued singing at concerts in London, Frankfurt a.M., Leipzig, Aachen and Vienna. She was a famous interpretor of the “Lieder” of Johannes Brahms.